June 2009
You'll Never Walk Alone*
Alvah Parker is a Career Coach who works with clients who are ready for a career change either because they are bored in their current job, ready to retire and find more meaningful work, or because they are eager to find their life's calling to add passion to their current job. She helps her clients find work that is more meaningful and a true reflection of their values and behavioral style. Alvah has developed a unique Value Program designed to uncover the client's strengths, values and style. Another aspect of Alvah's work with clients is to help them identify the work they were meant to do. Alvah is an Authorized Life Blueprint® Facilitator and uses Laura Berman Fortgang's Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction Program .
*Title of a song from Carousel by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein**
Thank you for passing this newsletter on to others with an interest in career enhancement and advancement. If you received this from a colleague and want to subscribe, please go to Alvah's website to sign up for a free subscription and TruValues assessment. Please watch for your confirmation email to insure delivery of Road to Success and Parker's Points
**The use of song titles is my way of expressing my love of music and musical theater. Each time I come up with a title I rediscover a song I love.
To Life*
Meaningful Work - 10 Tips for Long Life and Career Growth
A recent NY Times article focuses on a group of women in their 90s that play bridge with each other regularly. Researchers believe there are a couple of components to longevity- social interaction and using the mind. The game of bridge uses both. My mother who is 95 pointed out the article to me. Of course she plays bridge (4 times a week) and loves it. You can read the article here.
Similarly when you are managing your career, you want to make sure to have lots of social interactions with like minded people (networking) and you also want to challenge your mind in way that helps you to grow intellectually in your chosen profession or occupation. Meaningful work is work that enables you can grow both intellectually and interpersonally. Here are 10 Tips that will put you on the road to a long life and grow your career at the same time!
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Read current periodicals in your profession or occupation. To stay current in your profession or occupation read the journals, newsletters and magazines that are thought to be important in your profession or occupation. You may not have time to read the periodical from cover to cover but you can scan the table of contents to pick the one or two articles that are most pertinent to you.
- Know the hot topics in your profession or occupation. Use Google Alerts to bring you information daily on those topics. What are the buzz words that everyone is using? Start to form your own opinion about the trends you see in the industry.
- Read books related to your field. Identify the thought leaders in your particular field and read the books that they write. If you see a new trend on the horizon explore it and read books related to it.
- Read books and periodicals in other areas too. Look for ways to integrate your field to another area and read up on that area too. Try to develop a unique perspective or expertise so that you can distinguish yourself from others in your field.
- Write articles and/or speak at meetings. Speak and write about current topics in your field where you have developed an expertise. Get known by others in your field and related fields. Become known as a thought leader.
- Use social networks to expose people to you and your ideas. Write articles for your blog. Comment on someone else's blog. Answer questions that others ask online. Share your expertise with others online through a newsletter, blog or postings to Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
- Don't stay behind the computer or books and magazines. Get out and socialize! Join business groups, mentoring circles, and professional associations to meet people with common interests. Go to or invite others to a Tweetup. (Gathering of 2 or more people who know each other through Twitter)
- Start a group of your own. Start a business book club where you read the latest business books and get together to discuss them. Are there several people in your networking sphere that have something in common? Working mothers perhaps who want to share time management ideas for example. Socializing for business purposes should be fun and useful!
- If groups are hard for you, have coffee with a colleague instead. Try meeting someone new every week at work. If you work in a small office where you know everyone, find a new person in your building or in another office that does work you are curious about. Expand your network with both mental and social growth in mind. Spend time with people from whom you can learn and grow.
- Pay it forward. Be open to helping others. When you begin to build relationships with others, start by helping the people get what they want. To do this you could introduce them to someone they are interested in meeting, you could provide them with information they ask about, or you could refer a potential client or referrer to them. It is said that you have to give to get so begin by giving.
* Song from the musical Fiddler on the Roof with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Sue Connelly wrote an interesting article and list on her blog entitled "It's Your Friendwork Not a Network." Read it here.
Special Offer for June
Happiness is doing meaningful work.
"Career Satisfaction doesn't come from what you do. It comes from who you get to be while you're doing it." - Laura Berman Fortgang
Are you working in a job that gives you very little satisfaction?
Do you know you need to make a change but something keeps stopping you?
The Now What? Program can help you find that new career that will inspire you and motivate you. During the program you will:
- Uncover limiting mind sets that can paralyze you.
- Address the fear of change that stops you from finding your true calling.
- Discover a sense of purpose so that your job becomes less humdrum
- Overcome the inertia of familiar territory in order to propel yourself forward.
Clients who work on this program often find ways to make their current job more interesting and less stressful. As you work on the exercises in this program you learn a lot about yourself and what you want in your work life. Clients use what they learn in the program to enhance their current job.
If you are afraid to leave your current job because of the economy, this program will help you to make the best of what you have now and get you ready to move forward when the economy gets better. During the final phase of the Now What? Program you will write a transition plan to go from your current job to a new one. You can set the time frames for your transition. Now is the time to get ready for the turn around that is bound to happen. Be prepared!
Not sure about the program?
Try the Now What? Assessment. This assessment is designed to identify where your blocks are. It will also help to show you where in the Now What? Program you will work on these blocks.
The fee for the Now What? Assessment and 45 minutes of coaching time is $99. If after you take this assessment you decide to continue with the Now What? program the whole of your $99 will be deducted from the last month of Now What? coaching. That means the Assessment and 45 minutes of coaching will be free!
Get started now! You owe it to yourself to find work that is meaningful, fulfilling and enjoyable. Wouldn't it be wonderful to wake up on Monday morning excited about the prospect of going back to work!
Just send an email to asparker@asparker.com with your name, email address and phone number and indicate that you would like to take the Now What? Assessment and/or schedule to begin the Now What? Program.
"When who you are aligns with what you do you'll achieve extraordinary results." - Laura Berman Forgang
Be sure to check other offers for Career Changers.
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Parker's Points is written by Alvah Parker who also writes Road to Success. Both publications are fr*e to subscribers who are interested in doing work that is fulfilling and profitable. The subscriber list to these publications is only used by Alvah Parker and is not sold or given to anyone else. If you are receiving this publication, it is because you subscribed to it. I do not send either publication to anyone who did not request it.
About Alvah Parker
Alvah Parker is a Career Transition Coach. An award winning Account Executive for AT&T, an AT&T Sales and Quality Manager, and now a career coach, Alvah has successfully coached clients to define and achieve their goals. Alvah is committed to helping clients find their purpose in life. Once her clients know that purpose they are better able to select a career, connect with their passion and select a job specialty that expresses that purpose. This leads to a really satisfying and meaningful work experience. Alvah specializes in working with people in transition who are interested in exploring new career options. Her coaching helps her clients to get clear about their vision and then design a plan and strategy for the future based on that vision. Alvah coaches her clients over the telephone. This means she can be reached from anywhere in the world. You can reach Alvah at 781-598-0388
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